Ft Sam Houston Army Post Review

Your Name (if you would like it to appear):

Stephanie D

Base Name:

Fort Sam Houston

Base Location:

San Antonio, TX

How long have you been here? (give years please, ex. 2003-present)

My husband’s reserve unit is here, but I have lived in San Antonio all my life

What is housing like? On-post? (waiting list, conditions, etc.) Off-post? Any areas to stay away from? Average price to rent or buy? I know they just built some houses for NCOs & Up, but they are in the process of renovating some of the older ones, so there is a about an 8 month wait for on post housing. Off post there are lots of different apartments, including a brand new complex just outside the Binz Engleman gate. A 1 bedroom apartment will run you about $500 bucks a month.

Rate the PX & Commissary.

The PX is pretty good, lots of little vender’s inside, including a GNC and a Sprint Store. The PX and PXtra are always have different shows and programs going. There is also a buddy list they send out about once a month to tell you what their specials are going to be and what events are coming. The commissary is about average size and doesn’t have a lot of extras, but it does carry things you can’t get at the regular grocery store

Activities on base?

MWR is very active. They is something going on just about every 2 weeks. There is also a bowling ally and soccer fields. There are also 3 gyms and basketball hoops placed all over the post. The theater is currently closed, and I don’t know when/if they will re-open it. The quadrangle is always worth a visit. That’s where they held Geronimo and his Indians after their capture and they still keep animals in it to this day.
Active Spouses Club?

There is an FRG and PWOC as well as a NCO club and O club.

Things to do in area?

Downtown and the River Walk are always areas to visit. There are also 4 missions to visit including the Alamo. The hemisphere is fun to take the kids up becaase you can see the entire city from up there. Sports teams include the Spurs, Silver Stars (WMBA), and the Rampage hockey team. There is also Sea World, the Whitte Museum, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. There are 5 major malls and plenty of shopping centers all over town. In April we have Fiesta which includes Parades, a carnival, and various other events around town. Fort Sam has their own celebration called Fiesta & Fireworks which has lots of freebies and the night is ended with a wonderful fireworks display.

School System?

I don’t know about the system on post, but almost all the districts in San Antonio are TEA recognized schools.

Any colleges in area?

We have UTSA (University of Texas @ San Antonio) ACCD (Alamo Community College District) which is I believe 6 schools in total, a Texas A&M satellite school, Trinity University, Our Lady of the Lake University, and the University of the Incarnated Word

Jobs? (on post and off)

Two big employers are Toyota and HEB. (HEB is a large grocery chain in Texas), there are always new company’s coming into the area that are hiring and if you go to mysa.com you can look up job listings for free.

Favorite aspect of this base/surrounding city?

San Antonio is a large city with friendly people and between the base and the city there is always something going on to do.

Least favorite aspect?

In the summer we get a lot of tourists and downtown can be a pain if you have to go.

Local websites? (base, chamber, newspaper, schools, etc.)

mysa.com (good site for info and jobs – it is also the site for the news paper) visitsanantonio.com (Lots of info on different spots to visit) sanantonio.gov (the City’s official web page)

Any other tips?

Most of the people here are friendly and willing to help you out. If you enjoy having a good time and trying something new, you will fit right in and San Antonio